


Domestic Battlefields

by Windymon



Series: modern!AU shenanigans [2]
Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, Children, Domestic Fluff, Lor'themar tries to be a good dad, M/M, One-sided Lor'themar/Rommath, Parenthood, Service Dogs, for now
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-10
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 11:33:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14893845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Windymon/pseuds/Windymon
Summary: Lor'themar might wish his life was more like his old Farstrider days, maybe then he would be a better dad (though Salandria thinks he's doing pretty great) and he would definitely be handling this situation with her dance teacher in a much more sensible way.It's a good thing he has friends to lend him a hand (or give him a shove).





	Domestic Battlefields

**Author's Note:**

> I would not have finished this if not for Shira/Flyingllamas support/suggestions, so got to give a shout out at the very beginning.

 

Lor’themar had finished Salandria’s breakfast, toast buttered on both sides, no crust and scrambled eggs on the side, and started on his own, black coffee with two sweeteners to reduce the bitterness and a plate of bacon when he realized that there was still no sign of her.

“Salandria, what’s wrong?” he asked carefully poking his head in her bedroom after her had found the bathroom unlocked and empty. It sent worry snaking up his gut to see the girl still in bed, huddled under the covers.

“I don’t want to go!” came a muffled voice under the covers.

“Are you feeling unwell?” he said, gently peeling away the covers to find his daughter huddled into a ball, eyes pressed shut. “We’re playing dodgeball today, I thought you liked that.”

“Well, maybe I change my mind!” Salandria cried and tried to pull the covers out of his hands.

“Please tell me what’s bothering you”, Lor’themar said, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. He needed to get this sorted soon or they’d both be late.

Luckily, but perhaps a luck tinged with bitterness, the stalemate quickly ended when Salandria burst out in tears.

“The girls in PE tease me because you’re our teacher and they call me teacher’s pet and they said when we play dodgeball next time, they will only throw the ball at me!” she howled between sobs, causing his heart to break a little with each word.

He used to think it was a great idea to teach at the same school as his daughter, so she’d feel safer, but apparently he had been very wrong.

“Do you want me to speak to these girls?” he asked, gently stroking her back as she clung to the front of his shirt. She let out a shudder.

“No! If you talk to them that will just make it worse!” she squeaked out.

“Salandria, honey, you still have to go to school,” Lor’themar said with a wearied sigh. “I can’t leave you here alone.”

“I can go to the pet hotel and help Halduron!” Salandria said with a pout. “And when Aethas is there, he always lets me feed the pigs.”

Lor’themar shook his head. “I can write a note saying you are exempt from PE class, how’s that for a compromise?”

Salandria batted at her eyes and nodded.

“Okay, I guess,” she said, her shoulder slumped. Lor’themar actually ached inside to see her like this.

“How about we eat out tonight, after your dance class?” he said, gently wiping the last tears off her face. “We will have whatever you like and I won’t complain.”

He tried a smile and to his great relief she responded with her own.

“Can we have nuggets?” she asked hesitantly.

“Of course,” he said, even though he could hear his physician scold him about all that grease and carbohydrates. “We can even have ice cream even through it’s just a normal weekday.”

“Okay,” Salandria said. Her smile sat easier on her face now.

“Well, you’d better hurry and get dressed or we’ll be late!” Lor’themar said and there was a small swell of pride at how fast the girl got herself ready for school, without any more prompting from him.

After he’d left Salandria to attend her first class he asked around in the teacher’s lounge if there was anyone else who had encountered bullying in their class. There were some murmurs, Killarn Leafspirit, the new biology teacher mentioned how some of the boys had taken to harassing one of the other boys who had shown too much interest in “stupid nature garbage”, while Caina Soulbinder, the math teacher had spotted several instances of teasing over test scores that fell away from the norm in class.

“Perhaps we can suggest to the principal to have some event where we can talk to the children about bullying, without pointing fingers at either the perpetrators or the victims,” she mused, pushing her spectacles up her narrow nose.

Soothed by the support of his fellow teachers, Lor’themar felt slightly unburdened by the time he’d reached his last class of the day, the very PE class he has exempted his daughter from. He easily spotted the girls Salandria must have spoken of, for they shot him looks and whispered amongst themselves as he told them what they would be doing today. One of them asked him about Salandria with a look that looked eerie on a face so young, but simply told her she had not been feeling well this afternoon. He did make sure to split the gaggle of girls up into different teams, so they would be prevented from doing something.

Salandria was waiting for him in the library when he came for her, packing away the homework she had been working on neatly in her bag. How had he ended up with such a perfect daughter? It must have been Liadrin’s good genes.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked, as he hefted the bag with his gym gear over his shoulder.

She nodded and lifted her own bag for him to see.

“Is everything alright?” he asked her as they left the school.

“I guess,” she said and shrugged. “I’m just worried some of the girls will say something tomorrow, I have more classes with them you know?”

Some of the good humor Lor’themar had felt previously drained away, but he tried not to show it to his daughter, who needed him to be strong for her. She did remain quiet however, all the way to the door of Rommath’s dance studio and she lingered by the door instead of letting him come inside as he usually did.

“I’m okay, Daddy, really,” she said, clutching her school bag in one hand and her bag with her dance outfit in the other. “You can go now.”

“Okay”, he said, uncertain. “I’ll see you in about an hour then.”

“See you later, Daddy,” she said flatly and walked inside. He almost reached out to her again, despondent as she was, but stopped himself.

As the door opened and then swung shut Lor’themar caught a glimpse of Rommath inside, in his usual dance attire, shooting a look their way as Salandria entered. Lor’themar prided himself on being able to deal with stares from Rommath, usually, but this was not a normal day for him. Instead he fled like a beaten cur.

Halduron was already changing when he made it to the gym and there came the other jolt to his system. Those missed messages still haunted him, even though Halduron didn’t seem upset with him right now.

“Everything alright?” he asked, Gelert sitting attentively next to him.

Lor’themar greeted the service dog with a ‘good boy’, making his tail thump wildly, and had managed to more or less changed fully into his gym outfit when he cracked.

“Salandria’s being bullied and I don’t know what to do about it,” he admitted with a deep sigh. “And the worst of it, is that I think it’s my fault for taking that position at her school.”

“I’m sorry,” Halduron said. “I thought she looked a little out of it the last time she came ‘round to the hotel.”

Lor’themar kicked himself again, for apparently his friend had noticed something before he had. He felt something nudge against his hand and saw Gelert looking up at him, his furry ears twitching slightly. Lor’themar looked to Halduron for approval out of habit before he scratched the dog’s thick ruff of fur around the neck.

As they were finishing up later, Halduron turned to him with a grin.

“I think I might have an idea,” he said. “Liadrin has that competition this weekend, right?”

“Yes?” Lor’themar confirmed, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“So, how about you and Salandria come over for dinner then?” Halduron said.

“I think she would like that,” Lor’themar said, wiping the sweat out of his eyes with a towel. “What time?”

“I’ll text you the details later,” Halduron said with an oddly conspiratorial look to his face.

“Hey,” Lor’themar said, as Halduron turned to leave for the changing rooms, fighting back the urge to just keep his mouth shut. “I’m sorry about missing those messages. I’m glad things turned out alright.”

Gelert whined, but Halduron turned to look at him with a slight smile and reddened cheeks, a rarity for him.

“It’s alright,” he said. “I figured you were busy.”

Lor’themar still resolved to have his phone with him at all times from now on, this was not a mistake he should or even wanted to repeat again. Despite Halduron’s casual attitude, he felt undeserving of his friendship. And of the relationship with his daughter too.

Halduron was tapping something out on his phone as they left the gym, so Lor’themar said his goodbyes and walked over to the studio to pick up Salandria. When he walked through the door, fighting the stream of parents there to pick up their own children, he saw her talking with Rommath, the older elf crouching down to be at her eye level as she spoke. He felt almost jealous at the sight, which made him feel silly on top ot it.

“Salandria!” he called over the din of chatting mothers and fathers.

Finally she looked over at him and to his relief she smiled and waved, the sorrow from earlier forgotten. And then Rommath turned to look at well and his stomach started doing these queer somersaults which he should be way too old for. That a man could look that attractive in tight yoga pants was almost unnatural.

Somehow Rommath managed to keep him transfixed with those dark eyes of his until Salandria was suddenly there by this side, tugging at his hand to go.

“Come on, Daddy,” she said. “You promised we would have nuggets for dinner!”

He shook his head to get back to his senses, though by now Rommath was talking to another parent and the spell was finally broken.

“Want to see who can get there first?” he asked the girl, offering her a grin.

“If you lose, I get to have a puppy!” she called out and then she was off, darting off down the street, her bags bouncing against her back.

 

"Can I bring the puppy to school?" Salandria asked later between bites of her nugget, the breading first, then the meat inside. Lor'themar had no idea why she ate them that way, exposing the atrocities made to that poor chicken after it had expired.

"I’m pretty sure you’re not allowed to bring pets to school,” he said, sipping his soft drink. He could hear the nagging voice of his doctor in the back of his head, but ignored it.

"Halduron can bring Gelert everywhere!” she pointed out indignantly.

"And you know that Gelert is a special dog, that means he can go where other dogs can't,” Lorthemar gently reminded.

"I know..." Salandria sighed, scraping up the last of the dipping sauce with the last piece of nugget, getting sauce all over her fingers. Lor'themar resisted the urge to wipe her hands for her, she was too old for that now, he reminded himself, even as he saw that she had managed to get some dregs of sauce on her dance shirt. That would come out in the wash, surely. Hopefully.

He hoped he'd not made a mistake when he'd allowed Salandria to win, he'd made an effort of course, she would have been upset otherwise, but still... Did they even allow pets in Liadrin's apartment? Somehow it felt like a thing he should know. With a little time he would negotiate Salandria down from a puppy to a friendly dog from the shelter, Halduron would probably be happy to help him pick the perfect companion for his daughter.

"Feeling better?" he asked her as they made their way home.

Salandria nodded and offered him a smile.

"And because Mom is away I can see Halduron and Aethas this weekend!" she added with a grin, exposing the gap where a new tooth was coming in.

"He told you about that, did he?" Lor'themar asked. He got these constant reminders where he regretted that he had given Salandria his old phone, he'd kind of wanted to tell her himself when they got home. And additional bit of pick-me-up for her after such a rough day.

Salandria nodded and made a little twirl, which Lor'themar felt sure Rommath would be proud of. He pushed away the mental image he got, of Rommath showing his class to do a certain move and refocused on his daughter.

"It's going to be great,” she said, her grin widening as she grabbed his hand to tug him along.

Some of his old training slotted into place and whispered that there was something slightly off about the extent of Salandria's enthusiasm, but he pushed it away and foolish paranoia. She was just a girl, much too young to know how to keep any secrets from him.

"Yet it took you awhile to find out she had trouble in school,” a voice whispered.

He ignored that too.

 

Salandria was discussing puppy names with him as Lor'themar led them both to the apartment Halduron shared with Aethas.

Halduron greeted them at the door, Gelert wagging his tail in excitement and when Aethas poked his head out of the kitchen Lor'themar suddenly realized what had changed since those frantic text messages.

"Good for you,” he whispered to Halduron as he hung up his coat. His friend colored, but smiled back at him as Lor'themar clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"I hope a stew is alright,” Aethas said nervously. Though normally anxious, Aethas was usually relaxed in his own home...Lor'themar wondered at what was getting to him so.

And then the doorbell rang again, sending Aethas fleeing back into the kitchen.

"Halduron?" Lor'themar asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

His friend offered him no explanation, but pushed past him to answer the door with a wicked grin on his face.

Lor'themar was quickly distracted from these new developments when Salandria gave out an excited shriek.

"Oh my goodness! He's so big!"

The dog that had padded into the room was big enough to carry a saddle and he gave off a nervous whine as Salandria began to dance around him.

"Look, Daddy! Isn't he cute!" she cried.

The enormous dog flopped down on the floor in front of her and when the girl crouched down to let him smell her he began to quiet down. When the dog started to lick every part of her that he could reach, then rolling over for her to scratch his shaggy belly Lor'themar knew instinctively that he'd lost.

"By the Light, can that even be considered a dog?" came a too familiar voice from behind him.

"Hello, mister Rommath!" Salandria called as she rolled around with the dog on the floor, getting dog hair all over her tunic and leggings.

Lor'themar slowly turned around to confirm it and suddenly all the pieces slotted into place in his mind, how had he not seen this coming? Aethas’ nervous demeanor, despite the changed status of his relationship with Halduron, the weird looks and the conspiratory talk from both Halduron and his daughter... How slow had his mind become?

"Hello,” was all he could trust himself to say, because Rommath was going for casual tonight with the yoga pants from earlier and a sweater, and Lor'themar tried so very hard not to let his eyes roam.

"Dinner is about done now,” came Aethas’ voice as he poked his head out again, nervously wiping his hands on a dishcloth. His eyes darted from Rommath to Halduron, seeking reassurance from him in the face of his friend and pseudo-boss. Gelert stepped up to lick Aethas’ hand before Halduron gently placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Uncle Halduron!" Salandria called as she hurried up to him the huge dog in tow. To Lor’themar’s eye, the dog seemed to be keeping a nervous eye on her, as if she would keel over at any minute in its presence. "What's his name?"

"Tiberius,” Halduron offered as they all began to crowd around the rickety old kitchen table. "We've been fostering him for a while, until he's ready to find a new home."

"Oh, Daddy, Daddy, can we please take him?!" Salandria begged, pulling on his hand, giving Lor'themar that look that made any sort of determination inside him melt away like frost on a window pane in the morning sunlight. Salandra had him wrapped around her little finger from the moment she was first placed in his arms and there would be no denying her this.

Lor'themar shot his friend a look, because focusing on him allowed him to forget the dark haired, very attractive Elekk in the room, who was currently assessing the food on the table with the same mindset as a professional restaurant critic. Halduron only offered him a shrug in return.

Poor Aethas, Lor'themar found himself thinking, to be forced to deal with that on a daily basis.

"This isn't too bad,” were the words that came out of Rommath's mouth though, and the relief on Aethas’ face was clear.

Some of the tension seemed to leave the room and Halduron spoke to the both of them though he looked directly at Lor’themar.

“There really is a good dog in there,”  Halduron assured him. “Don’t worry about it, Lor”

The mood shifted towards the food, and Lor’themar had to actively prevent Salandria when she tried to feed Tiberius bits from her plate. Even if he had decided otherwise, the girl and dog seemed to have instantly bonded.

“So,” Rommath said, in between calculated bites of food, reminding Lor’themar that he was still there, on the other side of Salandria. “You should be proud of yourself, because I’m actually intrigued for once. A high ranking officer among the Farstriders, decorated war hero, set up to have an excellent career after the war ended and instead you end up teaching sports to children and the disabled.”

Lor’themar found himself averting his gaze, poking a piece of meat on his plate.

“You must think me foolish,” he said. “A squanderer of resources, for all our country has done for me in the years since the war.”

“As a matter of fact, I don’t,”Rommath replied. “I actually find it rather admirable.”

That stunned Lor’themar into silence and he risked raising his head to look at the other man. Rommath locked eyes with his, casually folding some loose strands of hair behind his ear.

The moment ended, finally, when Salandria tugged on his sleeve to ask him something.

“Daddy, can Rommath come over for a movie night?” she asked with a grin. “Maybe after Tiberius comes home with us!”

Lor’themar looked up at Rommath again, enthralled by the casual way he tilted his head to the side, how he shifted the stew onto his fork. For a moment the rest of the world faded.

“Maybe you should ask him,” he found himself almost stuttering out, eliciting a grin from Halduron and a curious look from Aethas.

Salandria turned on her charm, focusing it hard on Rommath who softened noticeably when she smiled at him.

“Please, mister Rommath, we could watch a dance movie and we could try to teach Daddy how to dance too!”

“I wonder if that last part is even possible,” Rommath said and there was actually the hints of a smile playing on the other man’s lips. It made something flutter inside Lor’themar’s chest. “But this has been a nice change from my usual weekend plans, I wouldn’t  mind doing something like this again...”

“Alright then,”  was all Lor’themar could choke out before his voice failed him once more, and it slowly dawned on him that maybe this was the other goal of the dinner. To get him and Rommath in the same room, and talking.

It spoke volumes about his own abilities that he needed a nudge in the back from his young daughter and his veteran friend.

He would thank Halduron later, over drinks, when he didn’t have that rather proud look on his face, sharing knowing glances with Aethas...and he would also milk Halduron for all he could about caring for a gigantic dog. At least his furniture was sturdy enough, child-proofed since day one, to withstand the ravages of a horse masquerading as a dog.

All he could hope for now, was that he didn’t mess this up.

  


**Author's Note:**

> Hope you are enjoying this awkward LorRom romance, cause there's more to come!


End file.
